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The community stepped up and gave back, as $84,250.00 was raised Tuesday night and Wednesday during a Mega Charity Event for the United In Caring Fund held at the Blacksburg Country Club.
“We had set a lofty goal of $50,000,” said Tom Duetsch, who is the general manager of the Blacksburg Country Club and serves on United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd’s Board of Directors. “The staff and Board of BCC were incredibly humbled by the support of the community for this event.” All proceeds from the event will go to United Way of Montgomery, Radford & Floyd's (UWMRF) United in Caring Fund - the only fund committed to help community recovery efforts in the wake of the April 16 tragedy at Virginia Tech. The Mega Charity Event all came about after Blacksburg Country Club's board of directors felt strongly about the need to support community-wide recovery and the United in Caring fund. The country club’s directors voted to forego all golf revenue on July 4th in order to host a golf tournament with all proceeds going to the United in Caring fund – and also to host and organize an auction on July 3. Duetsch said the two-day event started with just the idea of a golf tournament – and then when the auction idea was in its infancy, a vast array of luxurious, unique and expensive items were donated. And things bloomed from there. Four former Virginia Tech athletes even returned to help out the community and the school that meant so much to them. They included Darryl Tapp (Seattle Seahawks), James Anderson (Carolina Panthers), Brad Clontz (former major league baseball player) and Mike Williams (former major league baseball player). “This is a wonderful cause,” said Mike Williams, a Giles County native who was the first Hokie ever to play in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. “This is a great event and I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.” More than $38,000 was raised during the silent and live auction event, which was held on Tuesday night. The remainder came through the golf tournament held on Wednesday, in which 26 teams competed. Wednesday morning’s activities started off with the First Responders being recognized, followed by 32 maroon and orange balloons being released in honor of those who lost their lives on April 16. Brian Nash, a member of the Cobra Long-Drive Team also put on a golfing display prior to the shotgun start. The winning golf team consisted of Billy Edwards, Al Edwards, Joel Newberry, and Roger Young. Finishing second were Mike Langley, Brian Langley, Mike McGinty, and John Facciani, while the third place team included Steve Marshall, Mike Hylton, Johnny Williams and Dean Williams. “The support of our vendors who donated prizes, the community which came out and supported the event during a holiday, the members who gave up their golf course and facilities, and the sponsors, who said how much do you need and how can we help, was incredible,” said Duetsch. “It has been a wonderful feeling to see the entire community rally around this cause and truly give back.”
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